Prepared

Today was that same day, the day of the field trip. It was rare if any high school, especially Owen's school, had a field trip.

So, there were high hopes.

Owen was driven to school, as he was ready with his lunch, in a box which was metal. Avie was excited too, but she knew she might've had to sit at the very front of the bus.

One time, she had to sit in the passenger seat because she was that unpopular.

Worst time for that in high school.

They entered the school, where all students usually go. Usually chaperones were supposed to be in the classroom but they were considered old enough for no chaperones.

Owen was still a bit worn from the prom night, and still worrying about the smell in the janitor's room—but he was still lovey with Jess, which started to seem like a bit of a problem for both of them.

"Okay, were going to do attendance, ok. Brian.." she called as everyone just sighed. Some murmurs managed to get past through the sighing.

Why do we need attendance?

We're grown people!

Owen said nothing in that particular moment, only just worrying more about yesterday.

"Tinkish?"

"Here."

"Yvette?"

"Here."

After about five minutes of call and response, she called the class for a bathroom break. Owen was the only to go for some reason, so he continued his journey to the bathroom. As he came in, it smelled bad, but different. Usually, the smell of lukewarm dungus and foul stench is in the air.

He went into the bathroom until he saw something in the mirror. It was red, and had a scythe that was touched with blood.

The Reaper.

"Hello again, little child," he rasped as his skeleton cheeks began to expand in a sense of a smile.

Owen's heart started to pound as he fell to the ground like a ragdoll. He pulled himself back as the Reaper went closer to him in the light glistening, small bathroom. "So, I want to ask you a question, where's the little girl?"

"What do you mean?"

"The girl that you met at detention."

"How do you know?"

"My friend, I see all things, also hope you have a good field trip." the Reaper said as it floated forward towards him.

"It's just a matter of time before I find her, so I think it'll best to tell me without dying."

"Avie?"

"No, your—yes her, that girl! Tell me now….."

"Are you going to drain her soul?" he asked as he felt his breathing rise heavily. "Well, what does it matter to you, you're just a little rich boy who has to live with the rats of this world."

"Well you don't deserve any soul!" Owen said, with a bit of regret afterwards. The Reaper stayed silent for a dramatic pause.

"Well, that means you shall die with her."

The scythe swished as Owen rolled from the attack. "You'll never escape from me," the Reaper slyly informed. His eyes began to glow black as strength reached into his body.

His scythe began to have a black, smokey effect around the weapon. As it moved, suckling sounds followed as he missed Owen.

Owen tried to escape to the door, but the Reaper's tentacles stung close to him.

Owen opened the door in fear as he rushed out from the bathroom, surprised that he didn't soil himself.

He breathed for a while as he calmed down, but then realized.

"I need to warn Avie."

The Room of the King

The king rubbed his chin as he thought about the preparation of war.

"General, thank you for telling me this, I didn't know that your friend was going to attack my kingdom."

The General sighed as she still tried to process the news.

She said she was talking with him, that made a certain complaint of a random woman that trapped someone when getting beaten by certain henchmen. It was not what he said, it was what was behind him. She found some black shadows that were moving along the kingdom. Then as he left, as she was writing the paper, she created a certain view from her paper to see what they were doing. She saw them drop a bloody phrase by the window of the prince.

This will be your blood.

A declaration of war.

But it was going to be the one that only the Hiztaks were fighting.

"Gather the troops and get them ready for war," the King ordered the General. She nodded as she went her way to the trainer of the army: Master Wun.

The General arrived in the area, where they trained most hours of the day with him, and it was conceived to be tiring and brutal.

Master Wun had a long white beard and red robe with golden plated ribbon designs, while always holding the same staff. "Master, we have a certain problem," she said straight away without an introduction. Master Wu squinted at her as he softly remarked, "What is it that troubles you?"

"Teron, general of the Hiztaks, also thought to be my friend—wants to have war."

"Oh, my...the time has come."

"You knew this was going to happen and never informed anyone?"

"Who said I never informed anyone."

The General made a particular face where it explained confusion and vexness and the same time. "Then, who did you inform?"

"You."

"How so?"

"Remember the papers you have signed every week due to certain expenses of the kingdom? You should've seen one paper with a different language. You should've got the message."

It was true that after Teron left her office, there was one paper that said this in a different language.

That starts with T and ends in N

The controller of something who wants us dead.

"That was your—inform…?" she asked in a disappointed tone. Master Wu smiled and nodded at the same time. The General smacked her head and sighed.

"Train your army, we need to be ready when the time comes."

"You have my word."

"I wasn't asking for a promise."

Inside the Bus

"ASU! ASU! ASU!"

High schoolers shouted the same thing all over again while Owen's ears burned as he sat at the back, but that wasn't bothering him. He still hasn't told Avie about the Reaper. But, he couldn't find the time.

Avie sat upfront as she went on her phone just minding her own business. Owen knew he had to start moving now. He got up from his seat, but then someone else sat him down.

"Nah, you ain't getting upfront, you belong with the cool guys, and Jess. Heard what happened yesterday."

Owen gulped silently.

His eyes widened as if to pop out his sockets, and he cleared his throat. "I had a good limo...I'm guessing?"

The kid silently laughed, or at least it sounded silent. "No, the janitor said that it smelled funny in there, and Derek and Hana were messing around, now a lot of drama may happen now."

Owen sighed as he slouched in the seat.

At least it made him a bit better but he still needed to warn Avie. Because if he killed her, he'll kill him—and the last time that happened his windpipe was broken completely. He looked at Avie as he looked at the classmates around her.

Silent Souls of Hiztak

Teron walked through the silent forest as he came to meet with Drax. He was feeling quite cocky as he was ready for what was coming.

But something was different.

The Reaper, and Drax were there, like it was a meeting. But it happened to be a meeting.

"Oh, you. You finally came on time," Teron noted as he approached them.

The Reaper sighed, although his sigh sounded like a suckling noise. Drax growled as he opined, "Yes, he is here. And you arrived late."

Teron chuckled as he cracked his knuckles. "It's not the time that matters right now, it's today that matters."

Drax smiled as the Reaper nodded with an expression of achievement with his empty eyes. "The battle starts today doesn't it…"

"Yes, Drax."

"Hmm, that's quite the news. But, Astra cannot be welcome in the battle."

The Reaper verbalized as he looked at both them emotionless. "We can't get to Astra, if we can't capture the girl."

"Yes the girl," Drax remarked with a deeper growl than before.

"I questioned her friend, the boy that found me sucking out some human lives."

Teron rolled his eyes.

"He remarked Avie."

"And—?"

"She's Astra's daughter."

Silence was the new noise for a few seconds.

"What a coincidence, and yet you didn't kill the boy."

"If I did kill him, I wouldn't have known they were going on a field trip."

Silence was the new noise for a few more seconds.

"And what field trip is this supposed to be? And how do you know?"

The Reaper smirked in his voice, "I took control of a human after I took his soul, and heard about the whole thing. She wasn't there though so I guessed she was on the bus, we need to start the battle at their destination, we don't have as much time as we thought."

Drax sighed. "So, how's the army, Teron?" "They're ready for battle, stronger than ever," Teron answered as he nodded with cocky pleasure.

"Yes good, because we'll need it. You see, after we control the world, we'll make sure to overthrow Hemor. Because, we're all put down under humans, we were turned down from the Earth all because of Astra. And now, we shall rise again. If we defeat them, we can move on. We'll be able to rule the planet with dictatorship and control over all things. This battle changes the course of everything."

"But Astra may try to stop this from happening, and we can only get to that Avie," he rasped. "This is not only the war against Hemor, it's also war against Astra."

Drax sighed, "Don't worry, Astra will get her share again."

In the School Bus

Owen continued to sit uncomfortably as the expedition continued along its way. No word was said to Avie yet, because he couldn't find the right time for that to happen. The kids' shout began to rise as they reached towards the destination:

The Blue Woods.

It was always called that because a story said that in 1878, there were two friends which were lost in the woods. As they kept hiding there, every night all the blossomed trees died as one single wave of black must went through the forest, making them wait more months for their growth again. Animals went into hiding as they only had one day to eat the food they had.

Those two people despised it and decided to give new life: blueberry trees. As they continued watering, all the trees that were there provided too much oxygen that the black must was forced to retreat. Now, the animals could eat in peace now. It was a story that was said from those heroes' children to their children to their children till now.

Avie looked outside the window as she gazed at the fresh blueberries that defined the beauty of the trees that gave it its flavor. That was why it was called the Blue Woods. There was a certain building there that rose up from the guarding from the trees.

The bus came to a hard stop, which it didn't feel like the trip to start the fun, but it was anyways. Mrs. Remby stood up as she started taking attendance again.